10 Things You Don't Know About Chairman Papanoida

One of the things I love most about Star Wars is the level of thought put into the characters. When I was a kid, I would see all the background characters in the movies and instantly become curious. Then I would go to toy stores and see figures of those characters. The fact that they even had names blew my seven-year-old mind. Not only did they have names, but also, to my surprise, they had entire stories of their own. And if they didn’t have full stories, they would still have some interesting facts or details to them that increased my intrigue. One of those characters to me was Chairman Papanoida. Aside from his prominence in The Clone Wars cartoon, I did not know a lot about him. That is why I was excited to do this list; it allowed me learn more about a character most people probably never gave two thoughts about.

1. He Succeeds Chi Cho As Chairman Of Pantora

After the Supreme Chairman of Pantora dies in a battle with the Talz on the ice planet Orto Plutonia, Papanoida is sworn in as Supreme Chairman. However, he enters into a time of turmoil; soon after he is sworn in, the Trade Federation blockades Pantora, which puts the moon into a harsh predicament for Papanoida to try to help his people get out of.

2. He Is Not Afraid To Get Into The Action

When the Trade Federation blockades Pantora, he sends Senator Riyo Chuchi to ask the Senate for aid. However, the Trade Federation has his daughters kidnapped. When the Coruscant Security Force fails to find any clues, Papanoida discovers that one of his idols is misplaced and smeared with blood. After testing the blood, Papanoida finds that it belongs to the bounty hunter Greedo, who is under the employment of Jabba the Hutt. Papanoida and his son track Greedo down to Jabba’s palace and find Greedo. Then they make him take them to his daughters, and, after a shoot-out, are able to rescue them.

3. He Was A Playwright Before Becoming Chairman

On his homeworld, and before delving into politics, Papanoida is an incredibly successful playwright. The success of his plays also help him grow a large entertainment industry on Pantora, and eventually lead to him becoming a trade baron. However, this is from the Legends continuity, so it may not be considered canon anymore.

4. Inspired By George Lucas

In the Legends continuity, it is easy to draw similarities between Papanoida and the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas. They both wrote stories that were immensely successful, and they were both able to build massive entertainment empires out of it. While it may not be a direct reference or inspiration, Papanoida’s kids are.

5. Papanoida’s Kids Are Based On George Lucas’ Children

The inspiration for the Chairman himself may only vaguely be references to George Lucas, but Papanoida’s children are not. They are directly inspired by George Lucas' actual kids. Ion is based on Jett Lucas, Che Amanwe is based on Amanda Lucas, and Chi Eekway is based on Katie Lucas. Katie also plays Chi Eekway in Revenge of the Sith.

6. George Lucas Played Papanoida

Okay, so maybe the inspiration for the characters' Legends backstory was a little more direct than originally thought. George Lucas does make a cameo in Revenge of the Sith as Chairman Papanoida. He can be seen in the opera house standing outside of Chancellor Palpatine’s seating box when Anakin arrives.

7. The Voice Of Papanoida In The Show

Surprisingly enough, George Lucas did not return to voice Papanoida in The Clone Wars cartoon that came several years after Revenge of the Sith. Corey Burton provided the voice of the Chairman in the show, and he has also voiced characters such as Dale of Chip n’ Dale fame, Moliere from Atlantis, and Count Dooku in The Clone Wars as well. Burton also said that he based Papanoida’s voice on that of legendary actor and director Orson Welles. Specifically, he based him on Welles’ character Harry Lime from The Third Man.

8. Papanoida Is Not A Fan Of Palpatine

Even though he is a member of the Galactic Senate, Papanoida is not an avid supporter of Chancellor Palpatine. Actually, he is one of the Chancellor’s more outspoken opponents and critics. However, he never takes any direct actions against the Chancellor. He instead funnels information to other senators against the Chancellor.

9. He Has A Strong Intelligence Network

This factoid also comes to us from the Legends continuity. One of his many jobs in the Galactic Republic is to run his own intelligence network to gain information for the Republic. Some even claim that his network is the rival of the Bothan Spynet. There is some doubt on whether he truly uses his network for the Republic or for his own benefit.

10. Random Facts

Okay, there were a couple of interesting things I found that didn’t really have enough information to be a full numbered entry, so I decided to add them together here. The first being that the action figure for Papanoida features him with a cane. The tip of his cane on the figure is in the shape of the Death Star. Next, Papanoida’s name was originally going to be Baron Notluwiski. It was later changed to Papanoida, and Notluwiski was moved to be his first name. His species was also originally called Wroonian, but that was later changed to Pantoran for The Clone Wars show.

Written By Alex Lenzini

Syndicated From Culture Slate

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